In recent years, food manufacturers have responded to growing consumer demand for providing food products that are fat free. Today's consumers concerned with their appearance and health are attempting to maintain slimmer and youthful physiques. However, most food products that claim to be "fat free" are not calorie free. Many of these products contain sugar and carbohydrates, so although the product contains no actual fat, the food product may have a high caloric content. For example, see Bauer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,510; Singer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,681; and Ambjerg Pedersen, U.S. Pat. No. 5,626,901. Consumers are being confused by the many products that claim to be "fat free" and believe that these food products will help them achieve their weight and health goals, when they may in turn lead to weight gain because of their high caloric content.
To many consumers attempting to keep their weight down or maintain a good physique, salads are an essential part of their diet. Salads have a low caloric content and constitute one of the few ordinary types of food which are almost universally recommended for people on low calorie diets. The majority of people consuming salads enhance the salad's flavor by adding a food dressing. Food dressings are conventionally very high in caloric content, and even those food dressings which claim to be "fat free" contain calories due to their sugar and carbohydrate content. It is desirable, therefore, to provide a food dressing which contains no oil, sugar, carbohydrates or cholesterol so as to be truly calorie free, as well as fat free.
Calorie free food dressings which include a sugar substitute to replace the sugar are known from Nosarevich, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,383 and Bondi, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,384. The use of sugar substitutes such as aspartame, saccharin and Acesulfame-K in other food products such as fruit spreads to provide a reduced calorie product is known from Antenucci, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,397,588. However, using a sugar substitute in place of sugar raises concerns regarding contamination of the food dressing. Much less of the sugar substitute by weight is required to replace the sugar in food dressings because typical sugar substitutes are many times sweeter than sugar. Thus, the amount of solids in the food dressing are severely decreased when using sugar substitutes, which results in a greater water activity in the food dressing. Food products with high water activity are breeding grounds for microorganisms such as bacteria. These food dressings are known to be sterilized, such as by heating to an elevated temperature, to prevent the growth of microorganisms in the food dressing. However, sugar substitutes typically are heat-sensitive, and will decrease in sweetness level if exposed to high temperatures as are often required during the sterilization process.
Accordingly, there is unsolved need for a food dressing which is calorie free by containing one or more sugar substitutes, as well as optionally being fat free, and for a process for preparing same by which the growth of microorganisms in the food dressing is inhibited while preventing degradation of the heat-sensitive sugar substitute.